Every GM in BS Football reports to an owner, and every owner keeps score. Most players only notice the approval meter when it turns red and a warning lands in their inbox. By then the math has already been working against them for a season or two. This guide explains how objectives are assigned, how approval actually moves, and where the firing line sits — so you can manage your job security the same way you manage your cap.

How Your Objectives Are Set

At the start of every season the owner hands you two or three objectives. They are not random. The game looks at the average overall rating of your top 22 players — your starters, not your whole 53-man roster — and at how last season ended, then sets a win target to match.

Elite roster (starter average 72+), or you just played in the championship game: the target is 10–12 wins.
Solid roster (64–71), or a divisional/conference playoff run last year: 7–9 wins.
Everyone else: 4–6 wins.

A deep playoff run also inflates how good the owner thinks your roster is. A title adds the equivalent of about six rating points to that starter average when the targets are set, so a champion with an aging core is still expected to win big the following year. That is the trap a lot of back-to-back attempts fall into.

Your owner's personality shifts the win target by one game. A win-now owner adds a win; a frugal owner subtracts one. You can see the personality on the staff page — it is worth knowing before you plan a season.

The second objective depends on context. Very strong rosters (78+ starter average) or defending finalists get "win the championship." Good rosters get "reach the conference championship" or "make the playoffs." Bad teams coming off a missed postseason get a development goal instead: either "develop two players by 5+ overall" if you have at least two young high-potential players, or "draft and start a rookie" if you do not. And if you enter the season over the cap, a third objective appears automatically: get under it.

How Approval Moves During the Season

Owner approval nudges by one point per game — up for a win, down for a loss. Fan approval is louder: two points per game, four if it is a rivalry, with an extra two for a blowout in either direction. Fans react to roster moves too: trading away a star costs five fan points, bringing one in earns five, and a star free-agent signing earns four.

The owner cares less about headlines and more about discipline. Going over the cap costs three owner points. A trade the game grades as lopsided against you costs four. Neither will get you fired on its own, but they compound with a bad season.

The End-of-Season Math

This is where tenure is really decided. At season's end, each objective is graded:

Completed: +10 owner, +5 fan.
Failed: −15 owner, −8 fan.

Note the asymmetry — a failed objective costs more than a completed one earns. Two completed and one failed is only a net +5.

Then the playoff result lands on top: a championship is +25 owner (and resets fan approval to 95), a runner-up finish is +10, any other playoff appearance is +5, and missing the playoffs is −5.

Finances matter as well. A profit above $50M earns +3. Losses are punished on a sliding scale: worse than −$25M costs 5, worse than −$75M costs 10, and a catastrophe beyond −$150M costs 20. Winning still trumps money — a title outweighs any deficit — but a losing team that is also bleeding cash hits the floor fast.

Finally, both meters regress 10% toward 50. Approval of 90 becomes 86; approval of 20 becomes 23. The game is gently pulling you back to the middle every year, which means a great season buys you less runway than you think, and a bad one is slightly more survivable than it looks.

Where the Firing Line Is

If owner approval finishes a season below 25, you get a formal warning. Finish below 25 again the next season and you are fired. Climb back to 40 or higher and the warning is cleared — you get a fresh slate.

Work the numbers backward. Say you sit at 50, miss the playoffs (−5) and fail two objectives (−30): that is 15, warning issued. The following year you need to get back above 25 after regression. One completed objective (+10) and a wild-card appearance (+5) from 15 gets you to 30 before regression, then 32. You survive, barely. Fail everything again and you are done.

Practical Rules for Job Security

Treat the win target as the real objective

The win objective is always present, and the swing between hitting it and missing it is 25 owner points. Nothing else you control reliably moves the needle that far. If you are two games short in Week 14, that is the moment to make a deal, not the week after.

Rebuild under a frugal owner if you can

A frugal owner lowers the win target by a game and does not expect a superteam. That is the owner you want when you are tearing a roster down. A win-now owner raises the bar and leaves you less margin.

Never enter a season over the cap

Being over the cap costs approval when it happens, adds a third objective you can fail, and signals to the owner that you cannot run the business. Clean it up in the offseason — the cap guide below covers the restructures and cuts that get you there.

Bank approval in good years

A title season can push owner approval into the 90s. Because of regression, you will drift back toward the middle, but that cushion is what lets you take a step back for a retool without a warning. Spend it deliberately.

Do not panic-trade

A lopsided trade costs four owner points on its own, and the fan base will punish you for moving a star. Two or three reactive moves in a bad year can turn a warning season into a firing.

The Bottom Line

Owner approval in BS Football is a deterministic system, not a mood ring. Objectives come from your starter quality and last season's result, adjusted for owner personality. Completed objectives earn less than failed ones cost, playoff results and profit stack on top, everything regresses toward 50, and two straight seasons under 25 ends your tenure. Plan a season with those numbers in front of you and you will rarely be surprised by the owner.

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Owner Approval Explained: How to Keep Your GM Job in BS Football